Ezra's 1st Birthday!

My little Ezra, (who is actually not-so-little-for-a-1 year-old) turned one on November 15th. It was so nice to have my Mum and sister staying with us to celebrate. It is a tradition in our home that we decorate the dining table for the birthday boy/girl and put out all the presents and cards that have been received (mostly by our English relatives who have not ONCE forgotten a birthday!!!) and start the day with a little party. Ezra loved the balloons and presents and was really good at opening them by himself! Later that day, we had a little party for Ez with some neighbours and of course the Heders who are the kid's BFF's. Happy Birthday my little Ezzie!

Chloe and Ezra

Today Chloe and Ezra seemed to be the worst kids in the world. They cried and whined all day long and Chloe didn't stop beating on Ezra -no matter how many ka-zillion time outs she had. Right now they are both asleep and I can't wait to hold them and play with them tomorrow. That's the beauty of being a mother. No matter how much your kids drive you freaken CRAZY, you love them so much and miss them even when they sleep. Here's to a better day tomorrow!

As cute as this is, it's most likely going to become a problem.

Perfection

Go ahead and make fun of me for letting Chloe still have a bottle.

Daddy and Mommy's little helpers

Uh, looks like Ezra didn't finish his turkey

Chloe's 1st haircut

I have been contemplating cutting Chloe's hair for a long time. Not that I didn't LOVE her beautiful long hair, but it often ended up being knotty and really messy- looking most of the time. So when Chloe was in the bath the other night, I asked Bran (he's the, excuse me, he WAS- the haircutter in the family) if he could cut Chloe's hair. Next thing I see is my precious little Chloe with one side of her hair 4 inches longer than the other side...AND SUPER SHORT!!! When I said cut her hair, I didn't realize that Bran would interpret that sentence the way he did. Oh well, there was only one thing to do. Take her to a salon and fix the mess. So the next morning I took her to Fantastic Sam's (very classy) and after a few squirts from a spray bottle to wet her hair and a 5 minute cut, Chloe had an average looking haircut. It'll grow back, right???

Steph and Rivers wedding

My beautiful and incredibly intelligent sister, Steph, and her perfectly suited husband Rivers Pusey, got married in August in the Columbia Rivers Temple in Washington.  I just have to point out that I am always finding myself wishing that I could have been more like my little sister. For example, as much as I truly wore the dress of my dreams for my wedding, it cost a whopping $2000 and I think that my sister got it right by looking so beautiful in her $30 dress she bought from a street vendor in Mexico! Also, she got a family member to take her photos- which turned out AMAZING and I just HAD to go with the $3000 photographer-whose photo's pale in comparison to Steph's 'amateure' photographer! And while I did go quite simple on my bouquet, I admire that Steph's bouquet was wild flowers from the backyard!!! So the way I look at it is this way- I just had to take a lot for the team being the firstborn, you know? MANY lessons were learned by my siblings at my expense. ANYWAY, enough of my rambling. It was a beautiful ceremony and the couple were giddy and excited to be married.  After the ceremony, a gorgeous and yet simple reception took place in Rivers' family's backyard. His mother is a Martha Stewart-type and transformed the backyard into a scene out of Shakespeare's, 'Midsummer Night's Dream'. There was an open mic (as Steph and all of Rivers' family are incredibly musical) and Rivers and his brothers took over and entertained the guests with their amazing voices and abilities to play several instruments beautifully. It was a wonderful night and I am so happy that Steph married such a fantastic guy!

Halloween

This was the best Halloween ever! I don't remember the last time I dressed up for Halloween, but I was actually super excited about it this year. I think the family pumpkin carving session we had in the morning really got me in the spirit. We had so much fun carving pumpkins while Ezra was sleeping- and it's a good thing he was because it was messy enough without him! At 5 pm we had a party next door at the Chamberlains and had such a great time. The kids were having a blast eating junk and  jumping on the trampoline while the adults enjoyed a chili and chip buffet. Emily really let out the Martha Stewart in her by making the party really festive with paper spiders, orange and black sodas and black banners! Looks like we will pass the party hosting torch next door!!! Chloe had been excited all week to go trick or treating- and she wasn't disappointed when the time finally came. Fearless Princess Chloe and a bunch or her cute friends went to all the houses (with their lights on) in our neighborhood. She lasted about an hour- which we were stoked about cause we were carrying our huge baby, Ezra. It was a great night and once again,  I am so overjoyed to have my little Chloe and Ezra who bring so much joy to every occasion. 

Ok, so this photo is only really funny because of the story behind it. (note Chloe's left arm in a swinging backwards motion).  When we got to the end of our street (trick or treating), there was an absence of houses for about 50 meters. Chloe was very anxious to get back to business and CHARGED like a madwoman, with her left arm swinging back and forth voraciously, to get to the next candy -giving house. Hilarious.

Batwoman (aka:Robyn Johnson) and Super Rachel (aka:me)

Doug and the Johnson boys

This expression sums up Chloe's night. 

Brandon as a 'Fallen Comrade' and E

The story behind my costume is that I didn't have one until Emily offered me a cape. I put on the cape and magic happened.

Chloe getting the night started right

Chloe, Kylie, Darby and Bailey

Uncle Andy and Ez

Good use of extra vinyl Emily! (Emily bought way too much vinyl and had been wondering what the heck to do with it all. Black banners and table cloth. Perfect.)

Johnson's, Chamberlain's, McCoy's, Taits, Hale's and Swierenga's

1st Annual Family Pumpkin Carving Session

Chloe and mommy doing our 'scary' faces!